


Lightness in Dark Places

by Multifandomtrash



Category: Far Cry 4
Genre: M/M, pray for a happy ending
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-11-22 20:16:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11387625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandomtrash/pseuds/Multifandomtrash
Summary: Awaking in Durgesh Prison, Ajay is almost certain his fate is sealed. That is until Pagan shows up at his cell with a surprising offer.Starts off canon at the beginning of Act 3, moves off script quickly. Rated M for of later chapters. I apologize for the appallingly clique and not entirely relevant name of this story, titles are not my forte...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! :) I've replayed FC4 like 3 times since I got it about a week ago, so it's safe to say I'm a bit obsessed... I just had to write something about these two characters because I love them. 
> 
> Chapter 1 Warnings: language.

**Chapter 1**

What felt like only moments ago, Ajay was lying alone and half-conscious in the snow waiting for death to take him. The poor boy had just been thrown from Willis' plane and was trying to piece together what had just happened when a large gun hit him square in the face and everything had gone black. 

And now, still in this ubiquitous darkness, Ajay was sitting on a freezing cold stone in a very breezy place, with a rancid smelling bag over his head. He was sure his nose was bleeding and certain his head was pounding. Assuming his captors were the Royal Army, he hadn't yet dared speak up. After remembering the torture that had come upon Darpan, he daren't kick up a fuss. It would be in his best interest to keep quiet and complacent until the time was right to attempt a getaway. Hopefully, this getaway would be pretty soon. He wasn't sure how much longer he could deal with the nauseating smell of the bag. Ajay heard footsteps approaching from a nearby hall and the sound of a rusty metal gate opening. His heart started to race. Whoever this was, it wouldn't be good. 

" _You left the bag on his head? Well, can he breathe? Did you at least punch holes so he doesn't suffocate?_ "

The familiar sounding voice caused Ajay to tense up. Though it didn't seem Pagan had malicious intents for the boy, Ajay would much rather not be held captive by him after seeing how prone the man was to violent mood swings. He may have to attempt his escape much earlier than previously planned. To Ajay's relief, the bag was lifted gently from over his head, and as he eyes adjusted again to the light, an unusually friendly smile greeted him.

" _Hello! Did we enjoy our time with the CIA_?"

Pagan sounded almost too cheerful, which could only be a bad thing. Ajay looked up at the man towering over him. 

" _Welcome to Durgesh_." Pagan continued, extending his arms in a warming welcome. " _I apologize for the Spartan accommodations, but you have been a naughty little shit, haven't you, gallivanting about with the Golden Path_." 

As Pagan rambled on, Ajay cautiously eyed the lady sitting in front of him. She too was sporting pink, though in her hair rather than her clothes. Perhaps it was customary for royalty to wear that color. The lady was jiggling her leg impatiently and eyeing down Pagan. She obviously wasn't impressed with his little speech. There was a look of cold irritation in her eyes, and Ajay feared she was going to snap any moment. He hoped Pagan would stop talking soon, for both of their sakes. 

" _I'm sorry for your ennui, but let me ease him into this, Yuma. You're about to mind fuck the poor boy."_ Pagan hissed _. Perhaps a little sugar on your shit sandwich_?"

Ajay held back a smile. As eccentrically violent, terrifying and psychotic as Pagan was, he did have a damn good sense of humor. The man stood and pulled Ajay aside. 

" _Now, Ajay, I know this is hard, but consider this tough love..._ " Ajay felt Pagan's hand lower to the small of his back. " _Prison love_." He raised an eyebrow. Prison love?  That sounded questionable. Staring off into the snowy mountains in front of him, Ajay felt Pagan lean closer into him, pulling him ever so slightly tighter. He tensed up at the unusual affection. " _Oh, and one final piece of advice. I wouldn't sleep too close to the edge_."  

And with that, Ajay was alone again. 

* * *

 

Thinking back to his first encounter with Pagan, Ajay wondered what might have happened had he stayed right there, enjoyed the Crab Rangoon and not moved. Pagan might have returned approximately 13 minutes later, taken him to Lakshmana and maybe, just maybe, the two of them might have even got to shoot some goddamn guns together.

Ajay couldn't bare the thought of dying here without returning his mother to Lakshmana. He had so many unanswered questions. So many unfulfilled wishes. And he might never be able to answer these questions or fulfill these wishes. All because of his own stupidity. Ajay buried his face into his freezing hands.

_I'm so sorry, mom._

He came here to spread his mother's ashes and got dragged into a damn civil war. And now, here he was in prison for God knows how long and to meet God knows what fate.

What a mess this whole situation had turned out to be. 

Ajay curled himself into a ball on the cold stone floor and shut his eyes. He thought back to his home and family, letting the warmth of the memories overcome him. 

* * *

 

" _Kyrat is such a beautiful place_ ," his mother had said as they sipped tea together one early morning. " _But it brings out the worst in people."_ Ajay furrowed his brow, holding back from asking more. He sipped his tea as his mother continued. " _I regret so many things, Ajay_. _But I wouldn't have life any other way."_ He smiled at her and reached for her hand. _"I have you, my wonderful son. What more could I ask for?_ " 

||

Ajay threw his cup across the kitchen, smashing it against the fridge door. " _Why can't you tell me about my father?! I have the right to know about my own fucking life_!" He screamed, reaching for another cup. Ajay could see the pain in his mother's eyes, but his anger and frustration was blinding him. He threw another cup, narrowly missing his mother. It was silent for a moment before she spoke. " _One day, you will find out. When the time is right_." Ajay stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind him. In the kitchen, his mother stood alone crying.

||

Ajay held his mother tightly, fighting back the tears forming in his eyes. " _Take my ashes to Lakshmana, Ajay."_ She whispered, grasping her sons hands. _"I love you and will always be with you_." He held onto her until he could feel her breathing subside. Eventually, it stopped altogether. Ajay lay with her for hours. He hoped the tears would stop soon, but they didn't. 

" _I love you too, mom_." 

* * *

 It was dark when Ajay awoke. He couldn't stop shivering as he pulled his coat tighter around him. The wind coming off the mountains was too cold to bare; he didn't know how much longer he could take this cold. Pulling himself to his feet, he started jumped up and down on the spot in an attempt to warm up. After a few minutes, he was still feeling just as cold. He collapsed against the cell door, exhausted and more miserable than ever. His hands fumbled at the padlock, hoping that maybe, just maybe, the key had been left in it. No such luck. With his back against the metal gate, Ajay hugged his knees and exhaled into his hands. Though the few seconds of heat from his breath didn't make much difference, it was just enough to slightly comfort him.

His breath hitched however when he heard footsteps approaching and stopping behind him. He clenched his fists, ready to face whatever was about to happen. His mind raced, thinking of the many possibilities, all of them bad.

But to his surprise, the gate didn't opened and he wasn't grabbed. Instead, he felt a warm breath on the back of his neck and noticed a gloved hand pass through the gate beside him. It was holding a box of matches. Confused, Ajay turned around, shocked at who met his gaze. 

" _I thought you might appreciate some warmth, my boy. It's bloody chilly in here, isn't it_?"

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 Warnings: language, slight violence.

**Chapter 2**

Ajay didn't realize his mouth had even dropped open until Pagan reached out his hand and placed a finger on his chin, gently shutting the boy's mouth.

" _Isn't that a pretty picture,"_ he grinned. _"It sure takes me back."_

Noticing the confusion in Ajay's face, he leaned in a bit closer, almost too much so. _"You look just like your mother, darling."_ Ajay's cheeks reddened at the insinuation and he pulled away, awkwardly looking down into his lap.Pagan smirked and shoved the matches into Ajay. _"Now, are you going to take these or not_?" 

Ajay cautiously took the box from Pagan and inspected it. _Oh, it must be empty_. He thought, trying to figure out this uncharacteristic act of kindness. But no, the box was at least half full of what looked like real matches.

" _Don't trust me_?" Pagan asked, watching Ajay carefully inspect the box and its contents. " _What have I ever done to harm you, my boy_?" 

Ajay started into the man's deep hazel eyes; he could see genuine questioning. Pagan was right, of course. He had never personally hurt Ajay, nor had he ever shown an intention to. But still, this kind act seemed very odd and Ajay decided to hold up his guard. Just in case. It was difficult to trust the mass murderer who drove his home country apart, yet something about Pagan made Ajay want to trust him. He felt close to him in some strange way, perhaps due to his relation to Ajay's mother, a relation Ajay did not yet fully understand.

" _Well, I suppose I should be on my way._ " Pagan stood up and turned to leave. He called back to Ajay as he walked away and out of sight. " _Don't let Yuma see you with those, for both of our sakes."_

Ajay crawled over to the ledge of his cell and tore open the matches. He pulled some animal fur out of his pocket and set it alight. As disgusting as it was to skin the animals of Kyrat, it wasn't half handy. Their meat made great bait for a quick outpost clearance, and their fur burnt quickly, much to Ajay's relief. Much warmer now, but also much more on edge, Ajay settled into the prison wall with the fire to his side, shielding it with his body just in case Yuma decided to pay him a visit. The chilly breeze had also died down a bit. It seemed to be Ajay's lucky day. Aside from the kidnapping, possibly broken nose and slight concussion. 

He wondered if Sabal and Amita were looking for him yet, it had been a few days since he last checked in with them. Ajay thought about the events that had led to him being here in this prison. It was all thanks to that damn Willis. In the future, Ajay vowed that he would not trust anyone so easily. Especially not the tyrant in charge of Kyrat, who was for some suspicious reason, helping him. Though maybe it wasn't all that strange. Ajay knew that Pagan did not want him dead, nor did he want him even hurt. He had said this stay in prison was merely tough love, whatever that was supposed to mean. It was possible, though highly unlikely, that Pagan _did_ actually care for him. But why? He had been - as Pagan so bluntly put it - a naughty little shit. He'd killed half of the Royal Army, broke into the North of Kyrat and was in the middle of murdering even more of his army up in the mountains before he was captured. This whole trip to Kyrat had been quite a mess, to be perfectly honest. Ajay longed for his home, his bed and his life back. But, it seemed this was his life. At least for now. He had better get used to it. 

* * *

 With little kindling, the fire burnt out within a few hours, leaving Ajay even colder than before. He opened the box of matches, which to his dismay, was now empty. _Great_. He must have used more than he realized.  All he could do for now was try and fall asleep for a little while and hope when he awoke, things would be slightly better. _Unlikely_. 

The sound of the prison gate opening awoke Ajay, startling him. As he opened his eyes, he realized how close to the edge he had rolled and the drop below him caused his stomach to turn. He quickly inched away from it, banging into a pair of legs behind him. 

" _I did warn you not to sleep too close to the edge_. _Do I have to get you a safety gate_?" 

Ajay looked up at the man who was towering over him and smiled gingerly. Pagan was holding a pink checkered blanket, which was promptly dropped onto the boy's face. 

"S _eeing as the temperature has drastically dropped, I thought I would be so kind as to bring you a blanket,"_ Pagan declared. 

Ajay's muffled voice came from underneath the blanket, but Pagan couldn't quite make out what he was saying. He reached down and pulled the blanket off the boy.

" _Sorry, I couldn't hear you underneath there_."

 _"I said thank you_ ," Ajay repeated, accepting the blanket this time and wrapping it around himself as he stood. " _I, erm... I really appreciate this. And the matches._ " 

Pagan looked almost taken aback. He was silent for a moment before pulling himself together again. " _Yes, well, we couldn't have you freezing to death here, could we? It'd have dire consequences on the prisons star rating._ " 

Ajay chuckled at the irony of that sentence. This place wouldn't even achieve a one-star rating, not without a few hundred renovations, heating installations and changes to staff.  

" _Anyway_ ," Pagan continued, looking over his shoulder. Noticing the guard standing by the cell door, he lowered his voice slightly. " _Has Yuma stopped by to visit yet?_ " 

Ajay shook his head. 

" _Well, if she does, don't get on her bad_ side," he warned. _"Yuma can be quite violent when she feels like it. I guess that runs in the family..."_

 _"How long am I going to be here?"_ Ajay whispered, without quite thinking about the repercussions of the question. He might not want to know the answer.

Pagan rubbed his neck sheepishly and sighed, shaking his head. " _I'm not sure, Ajay. This isn't my prison and therefore I don't enforce the rules. I've told Yuma not to bring any harm to you, but..._ " He placed his hand on Ajay's shoulder, causing it to stiffen slightly. Ajay still wasn't used to the gentle touch from such a violent man. " _Look, just don't do anything stupid. I'll see what I can do_." 

He squeezed Ajay's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile before walking away, leaving the guard to lock the door behind him. 

* * *

 The next time Ajay was awoken, it wasn't under such pleasant circumstances. A hard slap across his face jolted him awake and a pair of rough hands grasped onto his arm, pulling him up. Struggling to properly wake up proved difficult, especially after the slap which had almost knocked him back out. Ajay managed to make out the figure of a woman in front of him, and a large, bulky man behind him restraining his arms. As his eyes adjusted to the daylight, he realized what was going on.

" _Cute blanket, who gave you that_?" Yuma asked him, reaching out and wrapping a hand around his throat. Ajay remained silent, focusing on trying to breathe as her grip tightened. 

" _Judging by the color, I'm going to guess... Pagan did. Am I correct_?"

Still, Ajay kept his mouth shut. Another slap forced his head to the side and he winced in pain. The icy temperature amplified the pain, causing tears to form in the boy's eyes. He wasn't one to easily cry, but the freezing cold temperatures and exhaustion were really getting to him.

" _He's pathetic; he's weak! All because of Ishwari, all because of your fucking mother and her fucking love!_ " Yuma slapped him again on the same side, her nails cutting his cheek this time and drawing blood. " _I will not stand by and watch him weaken again, especially not by_ _you_."

Ajay braced himself for another slap but instead, Yuma left, leaving Ajay limp in the guards arms. Now was his chance. Despite his weakness, Ajay's combat skills were not too hindered, and in one swift movement, the guard was disarmed and thrown off the edge of the cliff. In her rage, Yuma had forgotten or just neglected to lock the prison door. Ajay moved silently down the icy hallway, taking down two more guards before reaching a wooden door. He cocked the gun he had taken from a guard and took a deep breath. Anything could be behind this door, so he had better brace himself.

_Okay. On three. One. Two..._

The door swung open, hitting Ajay square in the face and causing him to stumble back. 

" _Bloody hell, Ajay! You didn't half give me a fright._ " 

Pagan reached down and pulled Ajay to his feet, wiping the boy's now bleeding nose with a tissue. He frowned as he noticed the dried blood on Ajay's reddened cheeks. 

" _Pagan, Yuma is-_ "

" _Nevermind that, boy. You need to get out of here, right now_."

He handed Ajay a grappling hook and some rope and ushered him down the hall. 

" _You can hook that up to some bolts outside your cell. Do be careful though, the last man to attempt that descent... well, you might meet what's left of him on your way down_." 

Pagan pulled Ajay into a tight hug, catching the boy off guard. " _Please, be careful_." 

And before Ajay had a second to speak, he was back alone in his cell. He poked his head out into the open and noticed some bolts he could grapple onto. The wind was picking up now, and the descent down the icy cliffside wasn't an easy one. His mind was racing about a million different things, but most of all, what was going to happen to Pagan. Too busy thinking, Ajay didn't notice that the icy wall had thinned drastically and his foot went straight through it, causing him to slip and let go of the rope, falling down the side of the cliff into a thick blanket of snow below. 

 _Great._ He thought as he slipped away into unconsciousness. _He had better not make a habit of this._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 Warnings: language

**Chapter 3**

" _You hadn't been in contact with him for a whole week and you neglected to tell me_?" 

_"Last I heard, he was galavanting about running errands for you_!" 

" _I've spent the whole week praying to the Gods that the Son of Mohan is found alive. What exactly have you done, Amita_?" 

" _Literally anything would be more helpful than praying to some dead Gods that died hundr-_ " 

" _Will you two kindly shut the fuck up?_?"

Ajay had finally regained consciousness, though now awake, he decided that a state of unconsciousness was preferable to this shit. He had just about had enough of the two rebels bickering. 

" _Thank the Gods, brother. You're okay_."

Sabal reached out his hand and helped the boy sit up. Ajay's head was spinning trying to piece together how he had ended up back in the safety of his own house. Last he remembered, he was escaping Durgesh Prison thanks to the help of the ruthless, murderous, utterly insane Pagan Min...

_Yeah, that must have just been a dream._

" _So_ ," Sabal started, breaking Ajay from his thoughts. " _Where were you_?"

Ajay shrugged. " _Durgesh Prison, apparently_."

" _How in Gods name did you get out of there_?" Amita asked, sitting on the bed beside him. 

" _Well_ ,' Ajay started, before pausing. If he told them that Pagan helped him escape, they probably would think he had lost his mind. But if they believed him, maybe they would hold back on the whole 'murdering the king' thing.  

" _Hello? Earth to Ajay, are you there_?" 

Ajay realized he had been zoning out long enough for Amita to question him. He decided to tell the truth, hoping for the best. 

" _Well, actually it was thanks to Pagan. He bought me a grappling hook_."

Amita and Sabal shared a worried look. 

" _Pagan helped you escape_?" Sabal questioned, crossing his arms. " _That seems unlikely... or suspicious_."

" _Are you sure it was him_?" Amita asked. " _I've heard he has a body double_." 

Ajay nodded. " _It was definitely him_." They didn't seem to buy it, or if they did, were questioning the man's intentions. Either way, it wasn't the outcome he had hoped for. He shouldn't have expected them to believe him though. They saw Pagan as nothing other than a monster. 

Amita stood from the bed. " _I think you should get some more rest, Ajay. When you're feeling better, come and see me_." 

" _Or me_." Sabal butted in, furrowing his brow. Amita shoved past him as she left, muttering under her breath. Sabal sighed. 

" _She's just another Pagan, Ajay. She doesn't care about Kyrat or it's faith or it's people_. _They're both just selfish, ignorant-_ "

 " _Just leave me alone_." Ajay snapped, surprised at how harsh he sounded. 

Sabal was taken aback but nonetheless left, closing the bedroom door behind him. Ajay was sick to death of both Amita and Sabals preaching and arguing. Neither one of them was a suitable leader of the Golden Path. All they ever did was complain at how bad Kyrat had become, how evil Pagan was and then make Ajay run around like their errand boy. Pagan said it himself, Ajay did not suit being an errand boy. Come to think of it, Pagan had treated Ajay better than anyone in the Golden Path had treated him. 

Maybe if he had have stayed with Pagan and enjoyed the Crab Rangoon, they would both be fighting _against_ the Golden Path right now. The Golden Path made themselves out to be the good guys, but were they? Ajay had been feeling more and more uneasy about working with either side of them recently. They had been doing the same shit for years, trying to fix Kyrat but to no avail. They had blamed Pagan for stealing their wealth when in actuality, they had robbed themselves for centuries. It was insane. Ajay thought back to a quote his friend back home had once told him. 

_Insanity is doing the exact same fucking thing, over and over again expecting shit to change._

Before Ajay could think any more about the whole situation, his radio buzzed in his pocket and a familiar voice came through. 

" _Ajay! I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I've got a slight problem that starts with Y and rhymes with Yuma wants to fucking murder me!... And I don't mean that figuratively_. _She is quite literally about to blow my head off. I'm extending an open invitation to you to get the fuck over here and help me."_  

_Shit_. He knew Yuma would find out that Pagan had helped him. That lady was crazy, and if she was after Pagan, he didn't stand much chance against her. Ajay grabbed his handgun and ran out the door. He drove as fast as he could, narrowly avoiding animals and members of the Golden Path on his way. Though, maybe taking out a few of them wouldn't be such a bad thing...

_"Oh, and Ajay,"_ Pagan crackled through his radio again _. "Watch out for the Royal Army. Yuma seems to have coerced a few of them over to her side. I can't say I'm impressed though, those bloody monkeys are all too easy to influence. "_

_"I'm on my way." Ajay replied. "I'll come in guns blazing."_

_"That's my boy."_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, a short chapter with a lot of dialogue. Forgive me... the next will be longer. Also, I'm half improvising the story now because I'm terrible at planning ahead :-)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay on this chapter, I like to write two chapters before I post the first one in case I need to make any changes. This chapter is much longer to make up for the delay. There's quite a bit of dialogue in here taken from the actual game too, so I suppose in a way this is an AU fic? 
> 
> Chapter 4 Warnings: Strong Language, Sadness (does this count as a warning?)

**Chapter 4**

It was dark by the time Ajay reached the gates to Pagan's Fortress. The Golden Path had only recently broken through into North Kyrat, and so the journey had been full of gunfights, car chases and worst of all, those fucking honey badgers. But Ajay had finally made it in one piece, with all the bits that count intact. He surveyed the area from a vantage point, pulling out his camera and capturing two guards standing outside the front gate. Having decided against his "bust in guns blazing" idea, Ajay was now forced to scope out the entire area in order to sneak in; he didn't want to alert Yuma to his presence. 

Ajay hadn't heard from Pagan since he had left his house, which was at least 5 hours ago. That couldn't be good, he needed to get in there as quickly as quietly as possible. The two guards out front were made quick work of, and Ajay was inside the fortress in no time. Another 7 guards were taken down stealthily and Ajay soon arrived right at Pagan's doorstep. In the rush to leave, he had only managed to pick up his trusted 1911 handgun. Not nearly enough to take down Yuma should he have to confront her, but it would have to make do. 

There was an eerie silence inside the palace. It was massive in there; Ajay had only ever seen a small area of it when he was here last only a few weeks ago. _It would be real helpful if you would answer your radio Pagan,_ Ajay thought to himself as he carefully opened every door he passed. _It would save me a lot of time_. All of the doors he opened led to rooms empty save for a few crates or boxes. Probably full of money and gold that he would have scavenged had he not been under so much time pressure. Just as he went to open the next door, he overheard voices coming from inside.

_"How long do you think she'll keep him alive up there?"_

_"Yuma is no stranger to torture. I'm betting it'll be at least another week."_

_"Want to bet 2,000₭ on that? I say 3 days."_

_"You're on."_

Ajay silently thanked the guards for the information and snuck up the main staircase. It wasn't as quiet upstairs. A few dozen guards were sat drinking and laughing in one area, an area which Ajay decided would be smart to avoid. He walked in the opposite direction and found himself in an area that certainly didn't fit in with the rest of the extravagant palace. It was a small, dimly lit room overlooking an even smaller and even dimmer room. Ajay recognized it instantly. It was the room Darpan was tortured in when Ajay first arrived in Kyrat. But this time, it wasn't Darpan chained to the wall, it was Pagan. Ajay pressed his face against the glass and looked down at the man, whose head was hanging limp. _Fuck_. He had to get down there. Ajay grabbed a nearby chair and smashed it through the window, quickly following and hitting the ground heavily. He stumbled over to Pagan, cupping the man's bloodied face in his hands.

" _Pagan, it's Ajay. I'm getting you out of here_."

Pagan seemed to be unconscious, which made things much more difficult. Once down from the wall, Ajay hauled Pagan over his shoulders and snuck out the door. He had had plenty of practice carrying men around the past few weeks, and luckily Pagan was much lighter than most of them. Especially Paul. Ajay managed to leave the palace almost silently until he accidentally walked right in on two guards in a rather compromising position and Ajay was forced to use his gun. _At they died happy_ , he told himself, making a break for the back doors. It made Ajay sick to admit, but with the amount of people he had killed, it didn't even affect him anymore. He had become hardened to killing, which could only be a bad thing. Ajay gently put Pagan into the passenger seat of a Royal Army car and sped off, looking back at the palace in the rearview mirror. None of the remaining guards seemed to be suspicious, thank God. That would give him some time to get Pagan back on his feet.  

 

* * *

 

Ajay stood just inside the front door of his house, his arm blocking entry from Sabal. He had only just arrived home in the early hours of this morning with the still unconscious Pagan, when Sabal had come racing up to his front door. 

" _Let's just talk out here, it's messy in there_." He insisted, trying to push the Golden Path leader away from the door. It was a terrible excuse, but it was all Ajay could think of in the moment. Sabal resisted, attempting to push his way into the house. 

" _No brother, this is important. We must speak_. _It is regarding Amita_."

Ajay was getting more and more nervous about Sabal finding his unconscious guest upstairs. The second Sabal saw Pagan, he'd be on him. And not in a good way. Ajay decided he had had enough of being bossed around by Sabal and quite forcibly shoved him back outside. Sabal was taken aback by the sudden violence against him and looked quite hurt. 

" _Look, whatever it is, you can tell me right here and right now, or not at all_." Ajay snapped, slamming the door behind him. 

 Sabal, now much more placid, spoke quietly. " _Amita needs to go_. _Do what needs to be done_... _please._ "

Ajay nodded; he was more than happy to rid Kyrat of that psychopath. Once Amita was gone, it was only Sabal that needed taking care of. He considered doing it now, but he had more important things to worry about at this moment. He didn't need the body of the Golden Path's leader on his hands too. Not right now.  

As soon as Sabal was gone from sight, Ajay rushed back inside and up the ladder to his bedroom. Pagan was still unconscious, and still bloodied and beaten. It sickened Ajay seeing him like this. The man had never shown an ounce of fear and it unnerved Ajay to think about the events that had led to Pagan's current appearance. He had never seen this much blood on Pagan, not even after he practically dissected a soldier with his pen. Ajay tore up some cloth and soaked it in warm water. He gently wiped the dried blood off the older man, revealing a myriad of cuts underneath the blood. As he finished cleaning Pagan up, the man began to stir. 

" _Hey_." Ajay smiled down at Pagan, who still looked slightly dazed. _"How're you feeling_?" 

Pagan groaned, rubbing his eyes. _"I feel like I just got hit by a truck_." 

" _You look it_ ," Ajay joked, helping Pagan sit up. He offered him some tea, which was graciously received. As he drank, Ajay studied the man's beaten up face, frowning at the black eye. 

" _You are entirely daft for coming to my rescue, my boy_.  _Half of me didn't actually expect you to show up at all,"_ Pagan admitted, sipping the hot tea.  _  
_

" _Sorry I took so long, but you weren't answering your radio so I couldn't ask where you were_."

" _Well, it's rather difficult to answer a radio when you're shackled to the wall, Ajay_." Pagan rebutted. " _Speaking of radios -and I suppose more subjectively, shackles - is that your radio vibrating in your pocket or are you just **really** glad to see me? I can't say I've ever experienced the vibration of my-" _

Ajay hastily put his hand over Pagan's mouth, feeling him smile as he answered the radio. He turned away, hiding his reddened cheeks. 

" _Ajay, it's Amita. I need to talk to you about Sabal_." 

" _Now is not really the time, Amita. I'm in the middle of something_." Ajay hissed. 

"R _egarding Sabal, Ajay,"_ she continued through the radio, ignoring Ajay's request. _"He is holding Kyrat back with his traditional delusions. You know what needs to be done."_

_"Yeah, I'm on it. Goodbye."_

He switched the radio off and threw it across the room. 

" _Oh, are we getting sick of being an errand boy_?"  Pagan teased, nudging the frustrated Ajay. " _I did tell you it doesn't suit you, my boy. You much more suit being in charge_." 

Ajay sighed. " _Sabal wants me to kill Amita, and Amita wants me to kill Sabal. And do you know what I want_?" He didn't give the man a chance to answer. " _I want to kill them both. And all of the Golden Path_. _Fuck them all._ " 

A smug smile spread across Pagan's face. " _You've turned into one cold hearted motherfucker, my boy_. _You take after me._ " 

" _What, with the cold-heartedness or the mother-fucking_?"

" _Funny."_ Pagan chuckled. _"It seems you take after my sense of humor too._ " His grin faded. " _And your mothers. You two are so alike, you know_."  

" _What happened between you two?"_ Ajay asked, crossing his arms. _"But spare me the raunchy details, please_." 

Pagan leaned back against the headboard of the bed, closed his eyes and let the painful memories flood back.

 

* * *

 

He held the tiny bloodied bundle in his hands, tears streaming down his face. She was unmoving and silent like he had never seen her before, not even his warm hands on her cold skin would awaken her. Ishwari was draped over him, screaming and crying uncontrollably, but he could not hear her. Time had slowed down to a standstill and he felt nothing but emptiness. The room around him darkened, an insidious shadow consuming any lingering patch of life left in his heart. He slid his hand over her tiny, cold, clenched fist and squeezed it gently. She did not squeeze back. Two grieving parents huddled over their child’s lifeless body. 

//

" _Don't go, darling. Please! I'm nothing without you. Nothing!_."

His pleas did not change her mind. Nothing could. Kyrat was no place for a child, she had told him. And after what she did to Mohan, it was not safe here for her. Not with the Golden Path still around. He fell to his knees in the snow and she walked away for the last time. The little boy in her hand looked back at the broken man as he and his mother were escorted to the helicopter. He had nothing left. No one. The one person in the world who had come close to changing him, to making him someone he was proud to be, had left. Everything he had ever loved was taken from him, leaving a broken, cold shell. 

The snow fell harder now, but he did not move. For hours he knelt in the snow, staring into the mountains that lay in front of him. They began to blur as the tears streamed harder and harder. He reached into his coat and pulled out his gun. For a few moments, he was silent. The barrel of the gun looked straight into his eyes. His hand hovered over the trigger. His mind was blank. Nothing was going to stop him. He looked up one last time at the small shed in front of him, whispering. _I'm so sorry, my darling girl._ The door opened slowly and his daughter crawled through the snow, reaching up for him. He dropped the gun and held her in his shaking arms.  _Daddy promises to protect you from now on._  When he looked down, she was gone.

//

" _Sir! The bus has arrived_."

Pagan stood from his chair and walked over to the soldier, pulling his pen from his blazer pocket.

" _Good. Now listen very carefully to me when I say this. I want you to **stop** the bus. **Stop** the bus. If anything happens to Ajay Ghale, so help me I will slash your throat with this pen." _

The soldier nodded and hurried out of the room. Pagan sat back down in his chair and smiled weakly at the photograph on his desk. 

" _This is it, my darling. Your brother has returned, and we shall all be reunited_."

 

* * *

 

" _And that's why I stopped the bus, Ajay. To tell you the truth of who you are. And the truth about Lakshmana, your half-sister,"_ Pagan whispered. " _That's where your mother wants to be placed. And she will be, Ajay. When this is all over, we will reunite them. Together."_

Ajay swore he saw Pagan's eyes well up before the man lay back down and turned over. He didn't know what to say, so instead, awkwardly placed his hand on Pagan's shoulder. To his surprise, the man sat up and hugged Ajay tightly. After a few minutes, he pulled away but kept his hand on Ajay's shoulder. Ajay noticed Pagan's red and puffy eyes but said nothing.

" _You'll find Yuma in the Keo Svargiya Mines. Be careful though, Ajay. She's strong and she'll try and get into your head. Don't let her_." 

" _I won't."_  He smiled reassuringly.  _"I'll be back soon_."

As he turned to leave, he felt Pagan's hand reach out for his own. 

" _Thank you, Ajay. After all the shit I've done, I wouldn't have blamed you if you had have left me there to die_."

Ajay smiled back at Pagan's somber face. " _Who would I tear shit up with if you were dead_?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always feel like I'm making the characters too OOC, I hope that's not the case... let me know what you guys think? :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay of this chapter, I wrote it the other day and then went to post it today and found it had been deleted so had to rewrite it D: It's fairly short and fairly sucky, so next chapter will hopefully be longer and better. 
> 
> Chapter 5 Warnings: Language

**Chapter 5**

Regretfully, Ajay had neglected to pick up his radio before leaving for the mines. He had been feeling rather lonely without hearing Pagan's voice uninvitedly coming through the radio. Luckily though, this journey wasn't too far, especially thanks to the gyrocopter Ajay had found by the side of a road. All this traveling was really starting to tire him out, and Ajay decided once Yuma was dealt with, he was going to have a well earned substantial meal and nap. Both of which he would probably be offered at Pagan's palace. He approached the mines and took out his gun, ready to shoot. Yuma was unpredictable so he had better be on his toes. Ajay walked through the entrance, his heart racing. He came to a large, relatively empty area. As Ajay's eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of this room, he noticed a note lying by a large statue. He squinted to read it and could just make out a few words in the dim light. 

_The only person I could track down to translate Sanskrit and De Pleur' delivers him to me half dead... he managed to translate a few pieces of this scroll..Demons have invaded Shangri-La... not of this earth, not of clear mind. Someone... something wanted Shangri-La for themselves...I need to source another translator..._

Pagan had mentioned Yuma's recent obsession with a Kyrati superstition which had influenced her to start expeditions up into the mountains and down into the mines, looking for magical relics. He said she had been becoming more and more detached from Pagan, which was most likely the cause of her betrayal. If she was into this superstitious magic, Ajay had better be careful. Who knows what powers she might have acquired. Kyrat and its mysteries were unpredictable. As Ajay turned to continue searching, a handful of pink dust was blown into his face, causing him to stumble back and his vision to blur.

" _What the hell was that_?" 

A familiar voice echoed around him before he started to black out." _You're in my Shangri-La now_." 

Determined to stay conscious this time, Ajay rubbed his eyes furiously. When he opened them, he was surprised to see that he was still in the mines, though now surrounded by candles. He started to walk, still slightly dizzy from whatever had just been blown into his face. Something didn't feel right. He was still in the mines, but something had changed. 

" _Pathetic_." Echoed Yuma's angered voice through the caves. " _Pagan breaks you out of **my** prison just so you can kill me? After everything I did for him_." 

 _You tortured him with the intent to later murder him, you psychopath,_  Ajay thought, not managing to find his voice. Whatever Yuma had drugged him with was drastically affecting both his sight and voice. This was going to be tough.

" _Before your whore of a mother came along, he was fearless!"_ Her enraged voice continued, consuming all of Ajay's thoughts. _"Nobody could stand up to him. Then your mother.... your mother_. _..I wish I had have had the chance to murder her. I would have ripped her limb from limb_." 

 _Don't let her get into your head._ Pagan's words echoed through Ajay's mind. He knew Yuma was going to try everything to weaken Ajay, and he wouldn't let her. He had to survive this. For his mother. For Pagan. Stumbling through the darkness of the cave, Ajay eventually came to a lighter area. Looking down, he realized he was walking through what looked like a river of blood. His stomach churned. Another familiar voice echoed from the darkness surrounding him.

" _I want you to go into every home, and find every child. Every child. You bring them back here, to me. Go_."

It was Amita. He watched as she commanded two Golden Path soldiers to enlist the children of Kyrat into the army. Ajay clenched his fists and dived onto Amita, his knife slicing through her and turning her to smoke. Behind him, another voice.

" _When you sided with Amita, you chose to desecrate your own heritage on the Gods_." 

Sabal was lining up members of the Golden Path, and forcing others to slit their throats. Ajay pulled out his bow and shot Sabal straight through the head. He, too, turned to smoke. _You won't be so lucky next time_ , Ajay thought to himself before continuing up the river. He finally came to another cave, and inside he found Yuma sitting half naked on a stone bed. He pulled out his gun and cocked it, determined not to lose concentration.

" _You got me_."

Her voice was low and seductive. Before he knew it, Ajay was lying on the bed with Yuma straddled on top of him.

" _We both know what you really want_ ," she whispered, slipping the gun out of his hands and leaning closer to him. " _I bet you wish I was Pagan right now, don't you?_." 

Ajay squirmed, uncomfortable at the accusation but finding it hard to deny. He tried to cover his face, but Yuma grabbed his arms, pinning him down. " _Would it make you jealous to know that Pagan and I have been in this position before. And not just this position_."

Sweat began to form on Ajay's face. _She's lying_ , he told himself. He was confused at what he was feeling right now. Anger? Jealousy? Why should he be feeling that? Yuma had drugged him, she must have altered his thoughts and feelings. Before he had time to think about it, a gold-masked demon was on top of him, growling. Ajay yelled and looked to the side, being met with the barrel of a gun in Yuma's hand. She pulled the trigger.

 

* * *

 

Back at Ajay's house, Pagan had finally found the strength within himself to get out of the warm bed. For a moment, he thought it might be quite nosey to look around the house but he then remembered, in a way, this house was his. He and Ishwari had often met here whilst Mohan was fighting his way into Pagan's Palace to kill the man. Little did he know, Pagan was at _his_ house shagging his wife. It amused Pagan greatly to know how much he had fucked Mohan over. The bastard deserved it, after all. It was bittersweet being back in the Ghale house. All the happy times he had here were ruined by the insipid memory of Mohan.

Pagan reached into his pocket and turned on his radio, about to check in on Ajay when he noticed the boy's radio on the floor in front of him.

 _"Bloody hell, Ajay_." He muttered, reaching down for the radio. Somehow, it had survived being thrown at the wall earlier. " _You really do know how to worry me, boy_." 

With no way to contact Ajay, Pagan made his way down the ladder into the main area of the house. The fireplace was burning mimicking the warmth of the day. Pagan sat down on the rug, his face illuminated dimly by the flickering light. He wondered how long Ajay would be. Yuma would put up a tough fight, but he believed in the young boy and knew he would win. Just as he was beginning to settle down against the lounge, the front door burst open. Amita and Sabal wandered in.

" _Ajay, we need to_ -"

They started in disbelief at what met them. 

Pagan sighed. " _Fuck._ " 

 

* * *

 

Ajay stumbled out of the caves, barely conscious and losing a large amount of blood from the gash in his arm. His legs started to fail him and he fell to the floor. Yuma was dead. But the memories of his battle still remained in his head, which felt like it was about to explode. It had been a tough battle that Ajay had only just won. He crawled towards the gyrocopter, knowing full well he was unfit to fly it. Suddenly, a blue car skidded to a halt in front of him and a Golden Path member came running over, helping Ajay to his feet and into the car. 

" _Ajay! We have been looking for you."_

Ajay smiled weakly, grateful to have a lift home. The man started the car engine and the infuriating voice of that fucking radio host came blaring through.Ajay groaned and hit his head back against the car seat. 

 _"Have you heard the news?"_ asked the man, not noticing Ajay's frustration and blasting the radio even louder. _"Pagan is dead_!"

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really plan it, but this will be the final chapter I'm afraid. Sorry, it's short and maybe comes as a surprise, but as I said, I didn't have a plan on where this story was going anyway and I thought here would be a good place to wrap it all up. This chapter is pretty violent though, so be warned. 
> 
> Chapter 6 Warnings: graphic depictions of violence, language, slight sexual content

**Chapter 6**

" _What did you just say_?" Ajay choked, his eyes widening.

" _Amita and Sabal found Pagan. At your house, for some reason. They've sent us out to come and find you and deliver the news. They're going to ask you to_ -"

Sadly, the man did not get to finish his sentence before Ajay's knife slit his throat and he was kicked out the car door. Ajay's mind went blank and he sped to his house, not even swerving to avoid animals or the Sherpa. That was the last thing on his mind at the moment. Approaching the road to his house, he saw a number of Golden Path members making their way up the hill, seemingly waiting for his arrival. They waved as they saw him driving up the road, but he didn't wave back. He didn't swerve the car either, instead, mowing them down as he approached his house. It wasn't that he was too distraught to care, but rather the opposite. Every member of that group was going to pay for this, starting with Sabal and Amita. And he'd back sure they suffered first. Ajay fell out of the car and barged through the front door of his house. His heart stopped when he saw what was inside.

Pagan was on his side, bleeding furiously from his face. It was a bloodied mess, and Ajay could hardly make out any of his features. Sabal was standing over him, watching Amita deliver hard kicks into the man's gut. She turned, smiling at Ajay innocently.

" _Ajay! Thank Goodness. You're just in time to finish him off_."

Amita held out her kukri for Ajay, beckoning him over.  

" _I was under the impression that he was already dead_ ," Ajay hissed, taking the knife and narrowing his eyes at her. He hoped she couldn't see the relief in his eyes. 

" _I told them to tell you that **you** would be the one to finish him. I suppose their over-excitement caused slight hearing loss." _ She shrugged _._  " _No matter, now is your chance to make things right_."

Pagan looked up weakly at Ajay, his eyes slightly covered by his mangled hair and his mouth dripping blood. Despite his almost unconscious state and probably intense pain, Pagan smiled. He knew what was about to happen. Sabal placed his hand gently on Ajay's shoulder, urging him towards the man on the ground. 

" _Finish him, _brother_. Make your father proud_."

In one swift movement, Ajay turned to face Sabal, grabbing his shoulder and sliding the knife right through his gut. He twisted the blade in his hands, all the while sinking it deeper and deeper into the man. His cry was dry; guttural chokes mixed with an agonized groan. Betrayal and confusion were the last things Ajay saw in his eyes before they began to fade in life, and he fell to the ground, hunched over and trembling like a rabid animal. Before she could even react, Amita's throat was slit too. She fell to the floor, lifeless. 

" _Fuck my father."_

Ajay leaned down and grabbed Sabal, who was barely conscious, by the collar, holding the kukri to his stomach as he pulled him back to his feet. 

" _Fuck the Golden Path."_

Sabal screamed in pain and the knife was twisted back into the same wound.

 _"And most of all, fuck you two_." 

He hurled Sabal's body across the room, watching it smash into an old bookcase. Ajay dropped to the floor beside Pagan, the mixtures of blood soaking his jeans. He helped him up, wrapping his arm around the man's waist to help him keep his balance. 

" _You're a chip off the old block, my boy_."  Pagan laughed dryly in between coughs. " _Try using a pen next time though, I find it much more enjoyable_." 

Ajay shook his head, smirking. " _You're a fucking psychopath, you are_."

" _Takes one to know one_."

Ajay scoffed and produced a tissue from his pocket, sitting Pagan down on the sofa. He helped him out of his blazer and began cleaning up the man's bloodied face.

" _I neglected to ask how the fight with Yuma went,"_ Pagan asked, staring intently up at the boy _. "Obviously well, seeing as you're here_." 

" _Well_ , s _he insulted my mother one minute and then tried to seduce me the next,_ " he laughed, sitting down on the sofa beside Pagan. 

Pagan raised an eyebrow. " _Was she successful_?" 

" _Not with me, but with you, she was, apparently_." Ajay scoffed, realizing he might have sounded a bit too bitter. 

" _Is that bitterness I sense in your voice, Ajay?"_ Ajay felt Pagan move ever so slightly closer to him. He could smell man's cologne and it certainly wasn't helping his situation. He shuddered as he felt lips graze his cheek.  _"We're not jealous, are we_?" 

Ajay crossed his arms defensively, blushing furiously. He could feel Pagan's eyes on him. " _You wish_." 

" _So what if I do_?" Pagan purred, inching closer and closer to Ajay. His heart was practically beating out of his chest right now. In an attempt to hide his embarrassment, Ajay diverted his eyes the other way. He met the open, lifeless eyes of Sabal across the room and almost jumped from his seat. 

" _Fuck me_ ," he muttered, running his hands through his dark hair and over his face. It was an exclamation of fear, or so it was supposed to be. Pagan took it otherwise, swiftly moving to straddle the unsuspecting Ajay and running his hands through the boy's hair. Ajay, quite in a state of shock, sat there gazing up at the man on top of him. His body was reacting in ways he hadn't experienced before, and it took him by surprise. 

" _Seeing as you asked so nicely_ ," Pagan breathed, his lips almost touching Ajay's. " _Try and ignore the dead body staring right at us_." 

Ajay's eyes widened, and he wasn't sure if it was because of that last comment, or Pagan's lips crashing against his own. He wasn't thinking about it for long though. Clumsy hands fumbled with the buttons on Pagan's bloodied shirt, tearing it off almost too eagerly. Ajay felt like he needed to stop to catch his breath, but he needed Pagan more. The man was moving on top of him in such a way that Ajay would happily accept death from suffocation should he be allowed to live out this moment. He felt his own shirt pulled over his head, giving him seconds to breathe before catching Pagan's lips again.

Ajay couldn't help but think what was going to happen now. Both leaders of the Golden Path were dead, and here he was, (hopefully) about to get it on with the enemy in his parents' old house. Things had not exactly gone to plan, not that Ajay was complaining. Pagan pulled back for a moment, sensing Ajay was elsewhere. 

" _Not having second thoughts, are we_?" He joked, though half of him seemed actually concerned.

Ajay shook his head. " _No, not at all. I'm just thinking about the future I guess. What's going to happen next_." 

Pagan leaned into Ajay's ear and whispered. "W _hat's going to happen next is I'm going to..._ "

Ajay blushed. " _I_ meant _after that! Amita and Sabal are dead, and we're... y'know. I mean, the Golden Path are going to be all over us_."

" _Well, I suppose there's only one thing left to do then, my boy_."

Ajay smiled and leaned into the man, staring deeply into his eyes. " _And what would that be?_ " 

_"Finally shoot some goddamn guns."_

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N. I've never written smut before, which is why it may seem a bit awkward or rushed or comedic. Do forgive me. But I hope you've enjoyed this story, and a huge thank you to those who have left kudos or commented, it really means a lot :) xx


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